Cecil H. Underwood Collection
Ar1803

Title: Cecil H. Underwood CollectionSpan Dates: 1922-2002Bulk Dates: 1945-1996ID No: Ar1803, Ph87-124Creator: Underwood, Cecil Harland (1922- )Extent: 129 boxes and 2 folders (Ar1803); 7 boxes (Ph87-124)Language: EnglishRepository: West Virginia State Archives, Charleston, WVAbstract: Correspondence, speeches, photographs, and organization and political papers documenting the professional and civic life of Cecil H. Underwood and his first term as governor of the State of West Virginia (1957-1961).

Administrative Information

Provenance: The papers of Cecil Underwood were given to the West Virginia State Archives by the former governor by gifts made in 1979 and 2002.

Transfers: Audiovisual materials were transferred to the Audiovisual Archives.

Biographical Note: Cecil Harland Underwood was born November 5, 1922, in Joseph's Mills, Tyler County. After graduating from Salem College, he taught high school in St. Marys, Pleasants County, from 1943 to 1946 before taking a job at Marietta College, where he remained until 1950. For the next six years, he held the position of vice president of Salem College. At the same time, Underwood pursued his master’s degree in political science at West Virginia University, which he received in 1952. Underwood subsequently received two research fellowships from the Amelia Earhart Foundation that allowed him to continue studying political/voting trends in West Virginia since World War I. In 1948, Cecil Underwood married Hovah Hall (1919-2004), and the couple had three children, Cecilia, Craig, and Sharon.

Underwood first ventured into politics in 1944 when he was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates at the age of twenty-two. He retained this seat until 1956, serving as house minority floor leader from 1949 until he left the legislature. From 1946 to 1950, he also was president of the Young Republican League of West Virginia. During his time in the legislature, Underwood’s interests included reform of the state parole system and the State Road Commission. In 1957, he became the youngest governor in the history of the state and the first Republican governor in twenty-four years.

In his first term as governor, Underwood worked to improve roads and assist those impoverished by rapid technological changes, particularly the mechanization of the coal industry. His administration developed a temporary employment program to provide relief to poor families. In Underwood's first year in office, the legislature created the Mental Health Department. He also promoted a sweeping revision of the mining laws and the need for local support of public schools. Also reflecting his interest in education, while governor, Underwood chaired the Southern Regional Education Board in 1959 and 1960.

Prohibited by the state constitution from running for a second term, Cecil Underwood ran for the United States Senate in 1960, losing to Jennings Randolph in the general election. He later ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1964, 1968, and 1976, defeated in the 1964 and 1976 general elections by Hulett Smith and Jay Rockefeller respectively and in the 1968 Republican primary by Arch Moore. After leaving office in 1961, Underwood became a vice president for Island Creek Coal Company and later a director and then vice president of Government and Civic Affairs for Monsanto Chemical Company, each time leaving to run for elective office. He also formed a land development company and a public affairs consulting service. In other business affiliations, he was a member of the board of directors of the National Bank of Logan, Huntington Federal Savings and Loan Association, and MEMCOR, an aerospace and electronics firm. Named president of Bethany College in 1972 (formally appointed on September 12, 1973), he served in that capacity until he resigned in 1975.

After leaving Bethany College, and following his unsuccessful bid for governor in 1976, Cecil Underwood worked at the Wheeling office of New York Life Insurance Company from 1976-1978 before becoming president of Princess Coals, Inc., in 1978. Through Princess Coals, Underwood became associated with the Morgantown Ordnance Works property and subsequently became president of the Morgantown Industrial Park, Inc., and partner in Morgantown Industrial Park Associates Limited Partnership. Underwood still held his financial interests in both entities when he became governor for the second time in 1997. In 1985, he helped create Software Valley, Inc., in Morgantown. He also became state director of the West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc.

In 1996, Cecil Underwood defeated Democrat Charlotte Pritt to become the state's oldest governor, forty years after being the state's youngest executive. In a 2000 bid for re-election, he was defeated by Bob Wise. After leaving the governor’s office in January 2001, Cecil and Hovah Underwood established their residence in Charleston, where she died in 2004.

Cecil Underwood also has been active in a number of civic and professional organizations, especially those related to education and government, and has served on the board of directors or in another leadership capacity with several. They include the Faculty Merit Foundation of West Virginia, including service as the foundation’s president; the Pearl Buck Birthplace Foundation; the American Cancer Society, as a member of the board of directors at both the state and national levels; and the Rotary Club. He has served on the board of trustees of his alma mater Salem College and its successor entities Salem-Teikyo and Salem International University.

Scope and Content Note: The papers of Cecil H. Underwood span the years 1922 to 2002, with the bulk dating to the period 1945-1996. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, political papers, association papers, speeches, and scrapbooks and loose clippings and is organized into two main series: first term gubernatorial papers and personal papers.

Approximately one-third of the collection dates to Underwood’s first term as governor (January 15, 1957-January 15, 1961). These papers are divided into general correspondence, invitations, speeches, scrapbooks, and clippings. General correspondence includes letters and others materials regarding an array of subjects, including gubernatorial appointments, the Aeronautics and West Virginia Centennial commissions, governors conferences, the 1960 election, Republican politics, roads, and events at the governor’s mansion.

The second series includes the following sub-series: campaigns and political materials, legislative years, correspondence, professional activities, boards and associations, miscellany, clippings, and oversized. Campaign materials, at twenty-seven boxes the single largest sub-series in the collection, predominately address the 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1976 campaigns but range in date from his first run for the legislature in 1944 to his 1996 campaign for governor. His years in the West Virginia Legislature (1945-1956) are largely contained in the six-box second sub-series, which also includes personal correspondence of his wife Hovah during those years.

Although a handful of materials in the Correspondence sub-series date to his pre-gubernatorial days or his later years, the bulk of the Correspondence came in his 1979 gift to the State Archives and deals with the period from 1961 to 1975. This material is organized alphabetically in nine boxes and includes personal and professional correspondence. Professional Activities includes fourteen boxes of papers on a variety of educational activities, most notably Underwood’s tenure at Bethany College and service with the Faculty Merit Foundation of West Virginia; business affiliations, including Monsanto, West Virginia Life Insurance Company, Morgantown Ordnance Works, Software Valley, and West Virginia Small Business Development Center; and professional engagements, and largely dates to the 1961-1993 period. The sub-series Boards and Associations consists of seven boxes of materials related to his numerous charitable and civic activities between the early 1960s and the late 1980s. Three boxes of Miscellany and nine boxes of Clippings (1945-1956, 1960-1984), primarily dealing with his political campaigns and legislative years round out Series II. The third series consists of oversized materials.

Photographs are accessioned as Ph87-124 and date from 1956 to 1999. A substantial number date to Underwood’s first gubernatorial term, with images from political campaign years comprising much of the remainder.

Papers from Cecil Underwood’s second term as governor (1997-2001), a transfer from the Governor’s Office, are a separate collection (Ar1912) at the West Virginia State Archives. Photographs from his second term are in Ph2008-103

Box 6
1.1:6, 1. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Barbour
1.1:6, 2. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Berkeley
1.1:6, 3. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Boone
1.1:6, 4. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Braxton
1.1:6, 5. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Brooke
1.1:6, 6. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Cabell
1.1:6, 7. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Calhoun
1.1:6, 8. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Clay (1 of 2)
1.1:6, 9. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Clay (2 of 2)
1.1:6, 10. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Doddridge
1.1:6, 11. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Fayette
1.1:6, 12. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Gilmer
1.1:6, 13. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Grant
1.1:6, 14. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Greenbrier
1.1:6, 15. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Hampshire
1.1:6, 16. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Hancock
1.1:6, 17. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Hardy
1.1:6, 18. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Harrison
1.1:6, 19. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Jackson
1.1:6, 20. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Jefferson
1.1:6, 21. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Kanawha
1.1:6, 22. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Lewis
1.1:6, 23. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Lincoln
1.1:6, 24. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Logan
1.1:6, 25. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Marion
1.1:6, 26. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Marshall
1.1:6, 27. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Mason
1.1:6, 28. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Mercer
1.1:6, 29. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Mineral
1.1:6, 30. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Mingo
1.1:6, 31. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Monongalia
1.1:6, 32. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Monroe
1.1:6, 33. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Morgan
1.1:6, 34. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, McDowell
1.1:6, 35. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Nicholas
1.1:6, 36. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Ohio
1.1:6, 37. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Pendleton
1.1:6, 38. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Pleasants
1.1:6, 39. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Pocahontas
1.1:6, 40. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Preston
1.1:6, 41. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Putnam
1.1:6, 42. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Raleigh
1.1:6, 43. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Randolph
1.1:6, 44. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Ritchie
1.1:6, 45. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Roane
1.1:6, 46. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Summers
1.1:6, 47. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Taylor
1.1:6, 48. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Tucker
1.1:6, 49. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Tyler
1.1:6, 50. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Upshur
1.1:6, 51. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Wayne
1.1:6, 52. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Webster
1.1:6, 53. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Wetzel
1.1:6, 54. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Wirt
1.1:6, 55. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Wood
1.1:6, 56. County Public Assistance Council Appointments, Wyoming
1.1:6, 57. County Files, Barbour-Kanawha
1.1:6, 58. County Files, Lincoln-Wyoming
1.1:6, 59. Crime Commission
1.1:6, 60. D
1.1:6, 61. Dental Examiners, Board of Recommendations
1.1:6, 62. Donahoe Trial

Box 85 (2.2:6)The Book of the States, 1945-46The Book of the States, Supplement 1947The Book of the States, 1948-49The Book of the States, Supplement I, January 1949The Book of the States, 1950-51The Book of the States, 1952-53The Book of the States, 1954-55The Book of the States, 1956-57

Box 106
2.4:12, 1. Software Valley, 1991
2.4:12, 2. Software Valley, 1992
2.4:12, 3. Software Valley, 1993
2.4:12, 4. Symposium, Technologies for Competitive Growth in West Virginia, Shepherd College, October 28, 1992
2.4:12, 5. Software Valley
2.4:12, 6. Software Valley Update, October 1990
2.4:12, 7. Software Valley, Research Symposium, Technologies for Competitive Growth in West Virginia, Shepherd College, October 28, 1992
2.4:12, 8. Software Valley Organization Notebook, Property of President C. H. U. (1 of 5)
2.4:12, 9. Software Valley Organization Notebook, Property of President C. H. U. (2 of 5)
2.4:12, 10. Software Valley Organization Notebook, Property of President C. H. U., Loose Papers (3 of 5)
2.4:12, 11. Software Valley Organization Notebook, Property of President C. H. U., Folder 5/30-31/91 (4 of 5)
2.4:12, 12. Software Valley Organization Notebook, Property of President C. H. U., Employment Needs Survey (5 of 5)
2.4:12, 13. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Articles of Incorporation, 1992-1994
2.4:12, 14. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., By-Laws
2.4:12, 15. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Application for Tax Exemption, 1985
2.4:12, 16. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Minutes, Board of Directors Meeting, January 4, 1985
2.4:12, 17. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Concurrent Resolution
2.4:12, 18. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Corporation Certification
2.4:12, 19. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Procurement Outreach Program, Proposal to Defense Logistics Agency in response to SCAP Number 85-1, May 6, 1985
2.4:12, 20. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Procurement Outreach Program
2.4:12, 21. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., A Bill for An Act, 1985
2.4:12, 22. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., 501C3 Award Letter, September 11, 1985
2.4:12, 23. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Employers Quarterly Federal Tax Returns
2.4:12, 24. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Tax Practitioners Institute, 1985
2.4:12, 25. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., U.S. Department of Commerce, Weirton Project EDA Profile
2.4:12, 26. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., IRS
2.4:12, 27. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., West Virginia State Tax Department
2.4:12, 28. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Cost Sharing Cooperative Agreement DLA8PH-85-H0003, 1985-1988
2.4:12, 29. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc., Small Business Incubator Seminar, April 10, 1985
2.4:12, 30. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc. (1 of 4)
2.4:12, 31. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc. (2 of 4)
2.4:12, 32. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc. (3 of 4)
2.4:12, 33. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Inc. (4 of 4)

Box 107
2.4:13, 1. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Memos to State Director
2.4:13, 2. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, System of Reports, September 1983
2.4:13, 3. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Correspondence From, Miscellaneous
2.4:13, 4. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Correspondence To, Miscellaneous
2.4:13, 5. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Miscellaneous Correspondence
2.4:13, 6. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Sub-Center Contracts
2.4:13, 7. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Budget Information
2.4:13, 8. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Marvin Shelton
2.4:13, 9. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Don Carter
2.4:13, 10. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Cecil Underwood
2.4:13, 11. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, University of Charleston Financial Reports
2.4:13, 12. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Small Business Administration (SBA) Envelopes
2.4:13, 13. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Wilson Personal
2.4:13, 14. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Review of 1985-1986 Proposal by SBA
2.4:13, 15. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, National Development Council
2.4:13, 16. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Cecil Underwood, Acceptance of State Directorship, 1984
2.4:13, 17. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, HHS Audit Report, 1982-1983
2.4:13, 18. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, HHS Audit Report, 1983-1984
2.4:13, 19. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, 3rd District
2.4:13, 20. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Small Business High Technology Institute
2.4:13, 21. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, University of Charleston, Cooperation Issues
2.4:13, 22. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Audit, 1984
2.4:13, 23. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Co-Sponsorship
2.4:13, 24. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, SBA Cooperation
2.4:13, 25. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Program Income
2.4:13, 26. Solicitation for Cooperative Agreement Proposals (SCAP), April 10, 1985
2.4:13, 27. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Certificates, Cooperative Agreements
2.4:13, 28. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Cecil Underwood, Time and Attendance Records
2.4:13, 29. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Sub-Contract, University of Charleston, 1984-1985
2.4:13, 30. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Written Consent and Agreement of Directors in Lieu of Formal Meeting, September 17, 1984
2.4:13, 31. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Summary of West Virginia Northern Community College and Weirton Sub-Center for 1984-1985
2.4:13, 32. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Miscellaneous
2.4:13, 33. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Clippings
2.4:13, 34. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, A Proposal to Create and Manage Ten Regional Small Business Innovation Centers, June 1985
2.4:13, 35. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Small Business Incubator/Generator Project, Proposal Abstract
2.4:13, 36. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Proposal, Presented for Consideration of Join Interim Committee on Small Business of the West Virginia Legislature, December 2, 1984 (2 copies)
2.4:13, 37. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Proposal 1984-1985
2.4:13, 38. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Proposal, 1985-1986
2.4:13, 39. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Cost Proposal, 1985-1986 (2 copies)
2.4:13, 40. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Program Plan, 1985-1986
2.4:13, 41. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Quarterly Report, October 1984-December 1984
2.4:13, 42. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Quarterly Progress Report, January 1, 1985-March 31, 1985
2.4:13, 43. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Bound Report, Quarterly Progress Report, April 1, 1985-June 30, 1985
2.4:13, 44. West Virginia Small Business Development Center, Year 2, 1983-1984 Annual Report (2 copies)

Box 108
(Second Governor’s Term)
2.4:14, 1. Governor’s Commission on Fair Taxation, Recommendations to the Governor, December 1999 (bound)
2.4:14, 2. Governor’s Commission on Fair Taxation, Supplement, December 1999 (bound)
2.4:14, 3. West Virginia Competitive Assessment, Prepared for West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development, September 11, 2000
2.4:14, 4. West Virginia Community and Economic Development System Evaluation, Prepared for West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development, September 10, 2000
2.4:14, 5. Coal Production Forecasts and Economic Impact Simulations in Southern West Virginia: A Special Report to the West Virginia Senate Finance Committee, June 2000
2.4:14, 6. Governor’s Task Force on Mountaintop Mining and Related Practices, December 2, 1998
2.4:14, 7. Change Strategy: Teacher’s Guide, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development
2.4:14, 8. Communications in a Changing Organization: Teacher’s Guide, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development
2.4:14, 9. Value-shaping Events: Teacher’s Guide, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development
2.4:14, 10. Developing a Believer Network: Teacher’s Guide, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development
2.4:14, 11. Winning the Moments of Truth: Teacher’s Guide
2.4:14, 12. Ready For What? A Study of What the Customers – West Virginia Employers, Higher Education and Students – Believe High School Graduates Should Know and Be Able To Do, West Virginia Business & Education Alliance
2.4:14, 13. Feasibility Study, Panther Creek Watershed, McDowell County, West Virginia
2.4:14, 14. Impacts of Phase II So2 Emission Restrictions on West Virginia’s Economy
2.4:14, 15. Impacts of the NOx SIP Call on West Virginia’s Economy
2.4:14, 16. Impacts of the Kyoto Protocol on West Virginia’s Economy
2.4:14, 17. ARC-Assisted McDowell County Actions Discussion
2.4:14, 18. Vision 21 Program Plan, Clean Energy Plants for the 21st Century
2.4:14, 19. The Truth About Tort Reform, A West Virginia Briefing Book
2.4:14, 20. West Virginia 2000 And Beyond, December 17, 1998
2.4:14, 21. The Weston Hospital Project
2.4:14, 22. Skills 2000 Labor Skills Assessment Survey of Unemployed and Underemployed West Virginia Residents, West Virginia Development Office, December 1992
2.4:14, 23. Coal-to-Liquid Fuel
2.4:14, 24. What We’re Looking For: Business Defines Its Workforce Training Needs, Executive Summary, West Virginia Roundtable
2.4:14, 25. West Virginia Technology Future: High Potential Industries and Actions to Grow Them, West Virginia Development Office, March 2000
2.4:14, 26. West Virginia Technology Future: High Potential Industries and Actions to Grow Them, West Virginia Development Office
2.4:14, 27. Governor’s Office of Technology, Bio 2000 Conference and Expo Report, Conference Summary and Implications for West Virginia
2.4:14, 28. John Collins, Testimony to Walter Raymond McCoy, February 27, 1999
2.4:14, 29. Program, Guyandotte Elementary School, Huntington, Dedication Ceremony, August 24, 1999
2.4:14, 30. Invitations, Luncheon in Honor of the Underwoods, Head of Bavarian State Chancellery, September 24, 1999
2.4:14, 31. Inauguration of George W. Bush, 2001
2.4:14, 32. Morgantown Industrial Park Controversy, 1999